Category Buyer

Career Area:

Procurement

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do — but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live.

Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Caterpillar is seeking a Category Buyer at our Mossville, Illinois or Irving, Texas location. As a Category Buyer within Electrical & Electronics, you will provide purchasing solutions expertise using Quality, Cost, Logistics, Development, and Management (QCLDM) to deliver maximum customer value. In this role, you will collaborate with a network of procurement professionals to support and complement Tier‑1 strategies.

This position supports procurement processes across category teams, with a focus on driving standard work and enabling key procurement initiatives aligned to business and financial objectives. The Category Buyer partners with category teams, sourcing leaders, and cross‑functional stakeholders to ensure consistent execution of procurement processes, including the rollout and adoption of enterprise procurement tools and ways of working.

• Support a high functioning team transitioning from tactical to strategic objectives.
• Work with buyers, category managers, and engineering teams to ensure alignment on all finished component technology and supplier strategies.
• Close collaboration with engineering teams to enable flawless New Product Introduction (NPI) and New Source Introduction (NSI).
• Manage and improve current initiatives aimed at building resiliency through contracts, finished goods inventory, and global point of consumption effectiveness.
• Recognizing the potential for cost decreases, inventory reductions, and quality improvement, as well as responsibility for soundness of business proposals and risk assessment.
• Responsible for all emergency Assurance of Supply (AoS) issues by strategically developing insights and relationships within the broker and secondary markets in close collaboration with the semi‑conductor buyer.
• Execute current initiatives aimed at building resiliency through contracts, finished goods inventory, and global point of consumption effectiveness.

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years’ experience in the Procurement or related space or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience is preferred in purchasing, logistics, manufacturing, supply chain and/or engineering.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, including crafting visually compelling materials for executive audiences.
• Professional certification in Purchasing and/or Inventory Management preferred.
• Strong relationship‑building and influence skills, with experience engaging senior leaders and global suppliers to advance business goals.
• Experience negotiating traditional and non‑traditional contracts with both US domestic and international suppliers. Expertise in contract negotiation (traditional and non‑traditional), with both domestic and international suppliers.

Data Analytics: Knowledge of techniques and processes for inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data; ability to discover useful information, draw logical conclusions, and support decision‑making.

Purchasing Tasks and

Activities:

Knowledge of policies, regulations and processes of purchasing; ability to use practices and procedures for procurement of materials, components, equipment and services.

Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.

Negotiating: Knowledge of successful negotiation concepts and techniques; ability to negotiate successfully across the organization and with external vendors and clients in a constructive and…